Shakespeare valued rhythm, meter, and harmonies in music and utilized these elements in his plays and poetry. This week, Bill has programmed musical adaptations of Shakespeare’s works for the stage and screen. The queue includes a suite from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed by the Berlin Philharmonic and excerpts from William Walton’s score for the film Henry V narrated by Lawrence Olivier. This week is full of The Bard of Avon’s song settings by English composers Ralph Vaughan Williams and Henry Purcell and we will conclude with musical versions of Romeo and Juliet by Bernstein, Tchaikovsky, and Prokofiev.
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
A marble bust of William Shakespeare
Playlist
Episode 1
Dowland, John: “Can She Excuse My Wrongs”
Alfred Deller & The Deller Consort
Folk Songs and Ballads
Musical Concepts 2008
1:30
Mendelssohn, Felix: A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture & excerpts
Berlin Philharmonic/Abbado, Branagh; narrator
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Symphony No 4
Sony 62826
11:40
Mendelssohn, Felix: A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture & excerpts
Berlin Philharmonic/Abbado, Branagh; narrator
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Symphony No 4
Sony 62826
14:43
Mendelssohn, Felix: A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture & excerpts
Berlin Philharmonic/Abbado, Branagh; narrator
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Symphony No 4
Sony 62826
22:20
Mendelssohn, Felix: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (excerpts)
Berlin Philharmonic/Abbado, Branagh; narrator
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Symphony No 4
Sony 62826
2:07
Episode 2
Dvorák, Antonin: Othello (excerpt)
Czech Philharmonic/Pesek
Symphonies 1-9 & Orchestral Works
Virgin 61853
15:00
Verdi, Giuseppe: Othello (excerpts)
National Philharmonic/Levine, Domingo; tenor
Otello
RCA 39501
6:32
Verdi, Giuseppe: Othello (excerpts)
National Philharmonic/Levine, Domingo; tenor
Otello
RCA 39501
9:44
Verdi, Giuseppe: Othello (excerpts)
National Philharmonic/Levine, Domingo; tenor
Otello
RCA 39501
4:46
Verdi, Giuseppe: Othello (excerpts)
National Philharmonic/Levine, Domingo; tenor
Otello
RCA 39501
5:48
Verdi, Giuseppe: Falstaff (excerpts)
Vienna Phil/Bernstein, D. Fischer-Dieskau; tenor
Greatest hits
Sony 64070
4:07
Verdi, Giuseppe: Falstaff (excerpts)
Vienna Phil/Bernstein, D. Fischer-Dieskau; tenor
Greatest hits
Sony 64070
1:18
Episode 3
Walton, William: Henry V (film suite)
Philharmonia Orchestra/Walton, Olivier, narrator
Scenes From Henry V • Richard III And Henry V–Suites • ‘Spitfire’ Prelude And Fugue
EMI 65007
3:36
Purcell, Henry: The Fairy Queen (excerpt)
2:53
Handel, GF: Julius Caesar “E Pur Cosi… Piangero”
London Philharmonic/Welser-Most, Amanda Roocroft; soprano
Amanda Roocroft
EMI 555090
7:03
Vaughan Williams, Ralph: “Full Fathom Five”
Cambridge Singers/Rutter
There is Sweet Music
Collegium 505
3:16
Vaughan Williams, Ralph: “The Cloud-Capped Towers”
Cambridge Singers/Rutter
There is Sweet Music
Collegium 505
2:22
Vaughan Williams, Ralph: “Over Hill, Over Dale”
Cambridge Singers/Rutter
There is Sweet Music
Collegium 505
0:58
Finzi, Gerald: Let us Garlands Bring “Who is Sylvia?”
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/Handley, M. George; baritone
Dies Natalis • Farewell To Arms • Let Us Garlands Bring • Interlude For Oboe & Strings
Conifer 51285
1:34
Finzi, Gerald: Let us Garlands Bring “Fear No More the Heat o’ the Sun”
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/Handley, M. George; baritone
Dies Natalis • Farewell To Arms • Let Us Garlands Bring • Interlude For Oboe & Strings
Conifer 51285
5:02
Finzi, Gerald: Let us Garlands Bring “It was a Lover and his Lass”
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/Handley, M. George; baritone
Dies Natalis • Farewell To Arms • Let Us Garlands Bring • Interlude For Oboe & Strings
Conifer 51285
2:34
Beach, Amy: “O Mistress Mine”
Emma Kirkby, soprano; James Lisney, piano
Chanson d’amour
BIS 1245
2:27
Beach, Amy: “Take, O Take Those Lips Away”
Emma Kirkby, soprano; James Lisney, piano
Chanson d’amour
BIS 1245
1:32
Walton, William: Henry V (film suite)
Philharmonia Orchestra/Walton, Olivier, narrator
Scenes From Henry V • Richard III And Henry V–Suites • ‘Spitfire’ Prelude And Fugue
EMI 65007
13:18
Mendelssohn, Felix: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Berlin Philharmonic/Abbado, Branagh; narrator
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Symphony No 4
Sony 62826
2:42
Episode 4
Gounod, Charles: Romeo and Juliet
Queen Mab scene
Toulouse Capitole Orchestra/Plasson
EMI 40700
2:38
Berlioz, Hector: Romeo and Juliet (excerpts)
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique & Monteverdi Choir/Gardiner;
Fouchecourt, tenor
Roméo & Juliette
Phil 454454
1:29
Berlioz, Hector: Romeo and Juliet (excerpts)
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique & Monteverdi Choir/Gardiner;
Fouchecourt, tenor
Roméo & Juliette
Phil 454454
7:17
Berlioz, Hector: Romeo and Juliet (excerpts)
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique & Monteverdi Choir/Gardiner;
Fouchecourt, tenor
Roméo & Juliette
Phil 454454
14:53
Bernstein, Leonard: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
NY Philharmonic/Bernstein
Candide Overture
Sony 63085
20:49
Bernstein, Leonard: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (excerpt)
NY Philharmonic/Bernstein
Candide Overture
Sony 63085
3:56
Episode 5
Tchaikovsky, Pyotr: Romeo and Juliet Overture
New York Philharmonic/Bernstein
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 + Romeo & Juliet
DG 429234
22:36
Prokofiev, Sergei: Romeo and Juliet (excerpts)
Leningrad Kirov Orchestra/Gergiev
Romeo And Juliet • Highlights
Phil 432819
19:35
Prokofiev, Sergei: Romeo and Juliet (excerpts)
Leningrad Kirov Orchestra/Gergiev
Romeo And Juliet • Highlights
Phil 432819
5:33
Prokofiev, Sergei: Romeo and Juliet (excerpts)
Leningrad Kirov Orchestra/Gergiev
Romeo And Juliet • Highlights
Phil 432819
3:04
